Ayres v. City Council of Los Angeles

207 P.2d 1, 34 Cal. 2d 31, 11 A.L.R. 2d 503, 1949 Cal. LEXIS 138
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedJune 14, 1949
DocketL. A. 20673
StatusPublished
Cited by139 cases

This text of 207 P.2d 1 (Ayres v. City Council of Los Angeles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ayres v. City Council of Los Angeles, 207 P.2d 1, 34 Cal. 2d 31, 11 A.L.R. 2d 503, 1949 Cal. LEXIS 138 (Cal. 1949).

Opinions

SHENK, J.

This appeal is by the petitioner from a judgment denying relief in a mandamus proceeding brought to compel the respondent city council to approve a proposed subdivision map without certain imposed conditions.

A tentative map for the subdivision of 13 acres owned by the petitioner in what is commonly known as the Westchester District in the city of Los Angeles was submitted in October, [33]*331944, to the city planning commission pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act (Stats. 1937, p. 1874, as amended, now Bus. & Prof. Code, § 11500 et seq.). The planning commission attached four conditions to which the petitioner objected, whereupon he appealed to the city council. The matter was noticed for a hearing before that body, after which an order was made sustaining each of the conditions. The petitioner thereupon commenced the present proceeding in the superior court. Because of the inclusion in the petition of allegations tendering the issue of lack of a full hearing, the court in overruling the demurrer to the petition also ordered that the trial of other factual issues proceed on presentation and consideration of all material and relevant evidence. The trial consumed two weeks in the course of which the trial judge viewed the locality of the proposed subdivision. Findings were made and judgment entered upholding the lawfulness and reasonableness of the imposed conditions. The appeal involves the sufficiency of the evidence to support the findings and judgment.

The area known as Westchester District of which the proposed 13-acre subdivision forms a part consists of 3,023 acres. It is bisected in a northerly and southerly direction by Sepulveda Boulevard, and easterly and westerly by Manchester Boulevard. It extends 1 mile to the south of Manchester and a mile and a half to the north; and 1 mile on either side of Sepulveda. Before subdivision the land in the district was owned by Los Angeles Extension Company, Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles, and Superior Oil Company. The petitioner represented the latter as subdivider and selling agent. In 1940, the formation of a general plan of development of the district was commenced. The plan fixed the business area on Sepulveda Boulevard immediately south of Manchester Boulevard and the petitioner was placed in charge of development by the subdividers. The so-called cellular design of residence lot subdivision was employed so that the rear of residential lots abuts the principal thoroughfares, thus prohibiting access to the lots therefrom. Another purpose of this type of subdivision was to minimize the amount of land required for street purposes. This general plan had been followed in the Westchester district. Requirements insuring uniformity were imposed, among which were the dedication of a 10-foot strip in the residence areas and a 13-foot [34]*34strip on each side in the business section for the widening of Sepulveda Boulevard, and the setting aside of a strip for planting purposes varying in width at the rear of lots in the residence sections bordering the principal thoroughfares.

The petitioner’s 13-acre tract, the last of the subdivisions in the district, is a long narrow triangle. Its northerly boundary is less than 500 feet in length, and the southerly point of the triangle about 2,400 feet from the northerly line. Arizona Avenue runs along the 'westerly line. Sepulveda Boulevard, the principal thoroughfare and heavily trafficked artery, borders the easterly line. These highways converge and form the southerly point of the triangle. Sepulveda Boulevard, from a point a short distance north of the convergence to the north line of the tract, is 100 feet wide but south of that point is 110 feet wide. Seventy-seventh Street enters Arizona Avenue from the west approximately opposite the center of the tract, and the proposed subdivision map shows the extension of that street through the tract. Seventy-ninth Street enters Arizona Avenue from the west a short distance north of the southerly point of the tract. An extension of that street through the subdivision would leave a triangular tip of land about 12% feet wide by 75 feet to the southerly point. The proposed subdivision would include 10 residence lots north of the Seventy-seventh Street extension fronting on Arizona Avenue with 80-foot frontages and depths to Sepulveda Boulevard varying from 312 to 462 feet. Entrance to the residence lots would be from Arizona Avenue exclusively. The lot immediately north of and adjoining the Seventy-seventh Street extension is proposed to be used for business drive-in, and the lot south of Seventy-seventh Street for religious purposes.

The four conditions imposed by the planning commission and approved by the city council and the trial court are:

1. That a 10-foot strip abutting Sepulveda Boulevard be dedicated for the widening of that highway.
2. That an additional 10-foot strip along the rear of the lots be restricted to the planting of trees and shrubbery for the purpose of preventing direct ingress and egress between the lots and Sepulveda Boulevard.
3. That the extension of Seventy-seventh Street be dedicated to a width of 80 instead of 60 feet.
4. That the area which would be covered by an extension of Seventy-ninth Street and south to the point of the tri[35]*35angle be dedicated for street use for the purpose of eliminating it as a traffic hazard.

The petitioner objected to the foregoing conditions on the ground that they were not expressly provided for by the Subdivision Map Act nor by city ordinance; that conditions 1, 2 and 4, and condition 3 insofar as it required dedication in excess of 60 feet in width, bear no reasonable relationship to the protection of the public health, safety or general welfare, and amount to a taking of private property for public use without compensation.

Article VIII (§§ 94 to 99%) of the Los Angeles City Charter deals with the department of city planning. By section 94 the department is given all the powers and duties which are granted to or imposed upon city planning commissions or departments*by state law, and as provided by city ordinance, subject to article VIII. Pursuant thereto and to the Planning Act of 1929 (Stats. 1929, p. 1805 as amended2 Deering’s Gen. Laws, Act 5211b), there is functioning in the city of Los Angeles a planning commission and a director of planning appointed by it who acts as the advisory agency of the commission. Section 95 of the charter requires the director of planning to prepare a master plan for the physical development of the city, and vests in him the powers and calls for discharge of the duties in relation to proposed subdivisions as required by the Subdivision Map Act and as may be imposed by ordinance. By section 96% the planning commission is required to hold hearings on the master plan or parts thereof and consider and adopt the same.

Section 11525 of the Subdivision Map Act vests control of the design and improvement of subdivisions in the governing bodies of cities and counties, subject to review as to reasonableness by the superior court in and for the county in which the land is situated.

Section 11526 provides that the design, improvement and survey data of subdivisions and related matters, including procedure in securing official approval, are governed by the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and by the provisions of local ordinances regulating the design and improvement of subdivisions.

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Bluebook (online)
207 P.2d 1, 34 Cal. 2d 31, 11 A.L.R. 2d 503, 1949 Cal. LEXIS 138, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ayres-v-city-council-of-los-angeles-cal-1949.